The Assistant Director of the ‘Rust’ movie set where Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin accidentally fired a prop gun at two members of the ‘Rust’ movie production crew, injuring director Joel Souza and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins stated in an affidavit that he personally declared the gun safe before Alec Baldwin fatally fired it.
The assistant director of the western film “Rust” grabbed a prop pistol from a gray cart and handed it to the movie’s star, Alec Baldwin, shouting “cold gun!” — which was supposed to indicate that it did not contain any live rounds, and was safe to handle around the crew huddled by the camera.
But the weapon fired when Mr. Baldwin pulled the trigger a few minutes later, discharging a live projectile that hit the director, Joel Souza, in the shoulder and struck the director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, in the chest, killing her.
The assistant director “did not know live rounds were in the prop gun,” Detective Joel Cano wrote in the affidavit.
The weapon was “set up” on the tray by the movie’s weapons specialist, or armorer, along with a Western-style gun belt used in the scene. Detective Cano did not say what the armorer told investigators who arrived at the Bonanza Creek resort, where the film was shooting.
In a statement, the actor said his “heart is broken” after a gun he used as a prop killed the movie’s cinematographer and wounded its director in New Mexico. The Santa Fe County sheriff’s office is investigating and hopes to have more information early next week.
Source: nytimes.com
